Pack These 11 Essential Items For Your Spring Break Trip

Zara Hanawalt

Can I get a woo-hoo? Spring Break is right around the corner, which means get ready for one hell of a moral hangover. If you plan on taking a classic collegiate SB trip – which generally includes beach, booze, boys and burns (I’m talking about sunburns, I just didn’t want to ruin the alliteration), you’ll need to pack carefully.

Because you’re likely swamped with midterms or emotional drama, you may not have given much thought to travel style or what you’ll take with you on this trip. So let me break it down for you, k?

YOU WILL NEED:

A sweatshirt: There’s a good chance you’ll never need this, but with the kind of weather we’ve been having this year, you should probs play it safe. Even if it’s sweltering outside, there’s a great chance that one of the people you’re shacking up with on the trip will insist on turning the temps down way low in your room. Your hoodie will come in handy is situations like that. Also, you can totally throw it on without bothering to wear a bra when you run out for greasy sandwiches one morning.

A shirt you don’t really care about: Because one night you’ll come home and be too tired to properly remove your makeup. You will use your shirt to smudge your eyeliner all around your face before passing out. (I mean, I’ve never done this…)

Leggings: They’re easy to pack and comfortable and you can wear them with aforementioned sweatshirt when you’re traveling home. People always seem to forget the travel home option.

Heels: It may seem obvious, but sometimes thoughts of rolling around on the beach cause people to forget that flip slops aren’t the only shoes out there. Pack a damn pair of heels to wear out at night.

Something you’d never ordinarily wear: Pack something that would ordinarily — be too short, too colorful, too trendy or too ‘not right for you body type’ for you. Vacation is the time to step out of your comfort zone, after all. Either borrow something from a more daring friend or go treat yourself to something. You’ll either realize you can “pull that off” or just blame your unfortunate look on all the debauchery.

One large bag, plus a few fun clutches to wear out at night: Don’t carry a big bag with your little dress when you go out at night. Don’t be that girl.

A one-piece swimsuit: Trust me on this – you will stand out and look classy and fabulous if you don a stylish one-piece. They’re hard to find, so if you don’t have luck go for a high-waisted bikini. You can pack your skimpy two-pieces too, but try switching it up with a one-piece for a day.

A romper. Just throw it on and go. It’s like a dress except your undies won’t show.

A fedora or sunhat: That nasty case of sunburn won’t be as bad and you won’t have to wash your hair as often (also take dry shampoo.)

Huge sunglasses: The bigger the better. You’ll look great in every picture, even if you can’t keep your eyes open!

A nice-ish blazer or leather jacket: Like I said, it may get chilly and you don’t want to wear you sweatshirt out to dinner. You’ll also look way more fashionable than all your friends if you throw one of these over your LBD when you go out at night.